Vote over at Top Web Comics and you can see the thumbnails from this week's pages plus one from next week, though it'll make no damn sense because it's scribbles, but hey...still interesting.Go check out the Fashion Design Contest if you haven't already! You've got til May 25th! I have to update that page to reflect the new spot to download the base to work off of, which I will do momentarily :).
So, Elias still has some feelings about the whole "not being in my pack anymore" thing, and like you do, you gotta spread out your complaining among various friends so they don't hate you for whining too much. I also wanted to contrast that he's a lot more straightforward with Vincent, but he kind of downplayed most of his feelings with Charlene and Mal. And even still, Elias isn't really a reliable narrator of his own story. He's upset because his mom kicked him out, but from her perspective, Sara did her best to defend him and also keep him from getting the brunt of the punishment. But hey, Elias is 22 and slowly freaking out about what's a fairly major life change, so his lack of perspective on the issue is understandable.
One of the fun aspects of writing a story that's longer than anything I've written before is being able to fully explore how characters change as they interact with different people. And it's not like I sat down and planned those subtle changes, really. As you develop a character and fill out their life experiences in your mind, the way they play off other characters just becomes a natural reaction to personalities meeting, and that's really been fun to explore. Elias is always kind of off balance around Vincent, but also a bit calmer overall. He's a bit bubbly around Mal, kind of to help energize her generally reticent nature. Malaya's more self-assured around Charlene, who in turn pushes her out of her comfort zone and challenges her. Mal and Vincent care a lot about each other, but they also tend to cover up deeper feelings by making fun of each other constantly. Anyway, I'm glad I have the space to take my time with this project, because character writing is my jam. Plot is just an excuse to keep everyone doing stuff.
(And I'm going to mention here, I share my writing notes with you guys because I like understanding other people's thought processes when they're writing, and not because I have no clue what I'm doing. Like any skill, you gotta be cognoscente of what you're doing so you can evaluate places where you're still overcoming weaknesses and blindspots, etc. This is a PSA saying I'm not actually looking for writing critique ;). )
I spent so much time drawing those damn buildings. It's very zen at this point. Get your vanishing points in order, and then Manga Studio/Clip Studio Paint has these amazing rulers that snap all your lines into perspective. It's like a slap in the face to every building I've ever attempted to draw before now. That middle panel is teeechnically slightly fudged as far as the walkways go because it looks better compositionally. (Here, let me lead your eye direction to the two people talking!)
I drew this page while watching Santa Clarita Diet on Netflix. Damn, that show is fantastic. The plot could probably use a bit of work, but was overall solid enough, but the dialog is what really shines. It's nonstop great. If I ever make a project that's that concentrated on humor, I hope I can write dialog that fucking hilarious so consistently.